Two additional shortcuts that can easily be worked into a DASH diet plan are meal prepping and batch cooking—both of which are important for quick, healthy eating. Meal prepping doesn’t have to mean cooking a full meal, either. It’s just preparing components that can be used to toss together a quick meal—like baking chicken breasts, roasting vegetables, and cooking a whole grain like quinoa. You can also minimize time spent in the kitchen by buying weekly salad greens, bags of pre-cut veggies, and prepping produce at the start of the week.

The ketogenic diet — or the “keto” diet for short — has been around for decades. Most popularly, doctors have assigned the keto diet to help control seizures in people with epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. But in recent years, people have begun turning to the diet in hopes of losing weight and, in some cases, better managing type 2 diabetes. Studies show that metabolic processes are altered when people consume a diet high in fat, such as meat, and low in carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta. The body shifts into a natural metabolic state called ketosis, during which it burns fat rather than carbs for energy, according to a February 2014 review published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Although carb intake varies depending on which version of keto is at hand, people following the plan typically limit the intake of carbohydrates to less than 5 percent of their daily calories, notes the Chicago Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Switch to Lighter Alternatives. Whenever you can, use the low-fat versions of salad dressings, mayonnaise, dairy products, and other products. "You can trim calories effortlessly if you use low-fat and lighter products, and if the product is mixed in with other ingredients, no one will ever notice," says Magee. More smart substitutions: Use salsa or hummus as a dip; spread sandwiches with mustard instead of mayo; eat plain roasted sweet potatoes instead of loaded white potatoes; use skim milk instead of cream in your coffee; hold the cheese on sandwiches; and use a little vinaigrette on your salad instead of piling on the creamy dressing.
As far as the the Ketogenic Diet goes, it is a very personal decision between you and hopefully your physician. I would just recommend working closely with your physician for all the recommended lab tests to make sure you remain healthy while on the diet. That’s really the goal of any “diet” anyway, right? To get healthy? This is why we normally always recommend moderation with everything…moderation in the foods you eat along with moderate amounts of exercise equals a healthy lifestyle that will prevent diabetes or help you control your diabetes if you already have it.

DASH was first introduced at a meeting of the American Heart Association in 1996 and later published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1997. [2] The DASH trial randomly assigned 456 people to different diets to test the effects of dietary patterns on lowering blood pressure. The authors surmised that eating a diet with many different foods with blood pressure-lowering nutrients would show a greater effect on blood pressure than eating single nutrients, such as found in supplements or in a limited diet. Three diets were tested: 1) a control diet, or a standard American diet, 2) a fruits and vegetables diet, similar to the control diet but providing more fruits and vegetables and less snacks and sweets, and 3) a combination diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and low-fat dairy foods with reduced amounts of saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol. The last two diets were richer in nutrients associated with lower blood pressure, such as potassium, magnesium, calcium, fiber, and protein. All three diets provided about 3000 mg sodium, which is more than the recommended amount from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans but less than the average sodium intake for Americans. [3]

As for individuals with type 2 diabetes, Dr. Galati says, "a very low carbohydrate diet could be tolerated, albeit with extreme caution. Transitioning to a ketogenic diet will require several lifestyle changes as well as careful monitoring of both your food intake and glucose levels and adjustments to your medications. Also, you should increase your water consumption."

Use fat as a lever. We’ve been taught to fear fat, but don’t! Both keto and low carb are high fat diets. Fat is our source of energy as well as satiety. The key to understand, though, is that fat is a lever on a low carb or keto diet. Carbs and protein stay constant, and fat is the one you increase or decrease (push the lever up or down) to gain or lose weight, respectively. So if your goal is weight loss, eat enough fat to be satisfied, but there’s no need to “get your fats in” once you’re satisfied.

In September 2018, researchers at Harokopio University in Athens released a study that suggests adhering to the Mediterranean diet can promote better sleep, specifically in older adults. While more research needs to be conducted to determine exactly how and why the Mediterranean diet improves sleep quality, senior study author Dr Mary Yannokoulia suggested that the connection could have to do with the presence of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin in foods like olive oil, fish and fruit.
When foods are processed, their potassium levels actually decrease. So, choosing whole or minimally processed foods can improve blood pressure regulation from both a sodium and a potassium perspective. In addition, you’ll usually decrease your intake of saturated fat, added sugars, and overall calories—all of which can help you lose weight, and keep it off for good.
High blood sugar levels coupled with high blood ketones, on the other hand, will mean that you have a pathologically low level of insulin – something non-diabetics do not suffer from. This can lead to ketoacidosis – a potentially life-threatening condition. If this happens, you’ll need to inject more insulin; if you’re at all unsure of what to do, contact a medical professional. Coveting really high blood ketones for weight control is not worth the risk for type 1 diabetics.

Eat Breakfast Every Day. One habit that's common to many people who have lost weight and kept it off is eating breakfast every day. "Many people think skipping breakfast is a great way to cut calories, but they usually end up eating more throughout the day, says Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, author of The Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids. "Studies show people who eat breakfast have lower BMIs than breakfast-skippers and perform better, whether at school or in the boardroom." Try a bowl of whole-grain cereal topped with fruit and low-fat dairy for a quick and nutritious start to your day.

A study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who followed a Mediterranean diet for two years lost more weight than low-fat dieters and maintained their 10-pound loss. "You don't feel hungry," explains Meir Stampfer, MD, DrPH, a coauthor of the study and a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston. Don't believe us about protein's fill power? Dr. Stampfer suggests this little experiment: "One morning eat white toast and jam for breakfast. The next day have scrambled eggs." The egg meal, Dr. Stampfer promises, will leave you more energetic and a lot less hungry at 11 a.m.
Fairly recently, the diet was introduced as a weight-loss diet by an Italian professor of surgery, Dr. Gianfranco Cappello of Sapienza University in Rome. In his 2012 study, about 19,000 dieters received a high-fat liquid diet via a feeding tube inserted down the nose. The study showed an average weight loss of more than 20 pounds in participants, most of whom kept it off for at least a year. The researchers reported a few minor side effects, like fatigue.
First, a little background: Eric Westman, MD, director of the Duke Lifestyle Medical Clinic, explained to Health in a previous interview that in order to successfully follow the keto diet, you need to eat moderate amounts of protein, reduce your carb intake, and increase fats. When you reduce your carb consumption, your body turns to stored fat as its new fuel source—a process called ketosis. To stay in ketosis, followers of the keto diet must limit their carbs to 50 grams a day, Dr. Westman says.
A slew of articles in recent months have referred to the ketogenic diet as a “fad” or “trend.” It’s “dangerous,” claimed one article, and an anonymous post by the Harvard Public School of Public Health said the diet “comes with serious risks.”1 Yet strangely, these critics seldom cite scientists or doctors who work with the diet, and many—including the Harvard article—cite no medical literature to substantiate their allegations. Without substantiation, many simply rehash long-contradicted, outdated claims.
This is ALL so confusing and overwhelming. I am not diabetic. I am trying to be proactive about it. I am borderline obese (by US standards) and obese (by Asian standards). I am 50 years old. I was addicted to fat and sugar (especially combined!) through my teens and twenties. I decided to get healthy in my 30s, so I became a Vegan (but an unhealthy/careless one, so my weight yo-yo’ed a lot in my 20s and 30s). In my 40’s I reintroduced animal products into my diet and a number of my health issues went away, but I am still fat. I am considering Keto/Carnivore, but I am concerned that I may just be falling prey to more extreme diets which could set me up for problems (e.g. diabetes) down the road. I guess I am what most would refer to as pre-diabetic (metabolic syndrome). Should I try keto or am I taking too much of a risk?
I teach ADA. I saw 49 people in 8 months. All except 1 lost weight and had A1C reduction. 16 reversed their condition. All this on ADA diet. ADA works, you just have to follow it. Keto will work also, I just do not believe that it is healthy in the long term. We need more study results, and evidence that it works before we recommend that everyone should go on a keto diet. I would recommend that any of you who are on keto diet, and who are adamant that it works, and that ADA does not, should look for clinical trials and become subjects. We will need to know scientifically that it works, not just by word of mouth. And we will need to see medical evidence that it helps. If there is science behind it, I am sure that ADA will get behind it. Their are medical programs where you can be followed on a keto diet. Look for those.
Not to be outdone, oolong tea—a Chinese beverage—can help those who drink it shed up to a pound per week. According to a study in the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, participants who regularly sipped oolong tea lost six pounds over the course of six weeks. What’s more? The tea’s antioxidants are thought to remove harmful free radicals and improve bone health.
This could be because the body increases insulin secretion in anticipation that sugar will appear in the blood. When this doesn’t happen, blood sugar drops and hunger increases. Whether this chain of events regularly takes place is somewhat unclear. Something odd happened when I tested Pepsi Max though, and there are well-designed studies showing increased insulin when using artificial sweeteners.

Thank you for your comment and your kind words Beverly! The diet you follow is quite restrictive and restricts most foods that are part of the Mediterranean diet. I have not seen any evidence of such a diet being anti-inflammatory. A traditional Mediterranean diet is considered an anti-inflammatory diet. The arthritis foundation also recommends a Mediterranean diet (https://www.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/arthritis-diet/anti-inflammatory/anti-inflammatory-diet.php). You can also check this article from Harvard for additional insight: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/foods-that-fight-inflammation

Check the nutrition labels on all your products to see if they’re high in carbs. There are hidden carbs in the unlikeliest of places (like ketchup and canned soups). Try to avoid buying products with dozens of incomprehensible ingredients. Less is usually healthier.Always check the serving sizes against the carb counts. Manufacturers can sometimes recommend inconceivably small serving sizes to seemingly reduce calorie and carb numbers.
Hi, Esther! Thank you so much for your kind comment. I am so glad you found The Mediterranean Dish and hope you’ll enjoy cooking some of the recipes here! I should preface my answer here by saying that I am not a dietitian or a nutritionist, what I share here is mainly from my experience as someone who grew up in the Mediterranean area and have continued to eat the Mediterranean way now as an adult living in the USA. So please always check with your health care provider or a registered dietitian if you are looking for professional advice or a specific diet plan to follow. But I’ll answer your questions as best as I know how.
For the ketogenic eating plan, participants were instructed to reduce non-fiber-containing carbohydrates to between 20 and 50 grams a day, with no calorie restriction. The group following the plate method were told to eat their meals on a nine-inch plate, filling half of it with non-starchy vegetables (eg, greens, peppers, broccoli, carrots), ¼ of the plate with whole grains (eg, brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat bread) and adding lean protein (eg, skinless chicken, turkey, fish, and seafood) to the last quarter of the plate.1
I am in the uk and a diagnosed t2d. I am also a nurse, although I am in end of life care. Up until my diagnosis I am ashamed to say the I believed in exactly th.e same things as the writer of this article. Our health service actively promotes a carb rich diet for t2d. Not an excessive amount of calories, but a “healthy” amount of whole grains, fruit, whole rice etc. It was not until I did some actual research and looked at the science that I came to see that what I had been taught and what I really did believe to be the best advice was quite simply wrong.
“Don't like eating meat?” asks Ginger Hultin, RDN, a dietitian in private practice in Seattle and a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. “Then don't be paleo! Travel a lot and rely on eating out? The DASH diet may end in frustration for you.” The bottom line: The diet you choose needs to be safe and effective, while taking into account your lifestyle.
After about two to seven days of following the keto diet, you go into something called ketosis, or the state your body enters when it doesn't have enough carbs for your cells to use for energy. That's when you start making ketones, or organic compounds that your bod then uses in place of those missing carbs. At this point, your body also starts burning fat for more energy, says Beth Warren, R.D., founder of Beth Warren Nutrition and author of Living A Real Life With Real Food.
“However, saturated fat has long been lauded as a heart-harming macronutrient; the American Heart Association recommends no more than 13 grams of saturated fat per day. In fact, Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director of the Joan H. Tisch Center For Women’s Health at NYU Langone Medical Center, said saturated fats can increase bad cholesterol.” -Christina Stiehl, PopSugar reporter17
There are many ways to do intermittent fasting — ranging from fasting for a number of hours each day up to an entire 24-hour fasting period one or two times a week. “If you're trying to kick a habit like eating late into the night, then stopping eating earlier in the evening and fasting overnight could be beneficial for you,” says Hultin. “There are many types of intermittent fasting, so ensuring you pick one that works for you and your lifestyle is important.”
What the expert says: ‘This is something that is used for athletes as part of their training. While it can lead to weight loss, carbohydrates are an energy source for the body, and restricting them can lead to headaches, fatigue and difficulty concentrating. You would be better to find the level of carbohydrates your body needs by eating normal portion sizes and a balance of all food groups.’
My pick for the healthiest meal plan for diabetes? My favorite is the Mediterranean Diet. It’s high in fiber, low in saturated fats and includes no processed foods which is the challenge for all of us at this point in history. If we could all eat like they do in Italy and Greece! Think of Sicily and the coasts of Greece where their diet consists of fresh fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, beans, seeds, olives and olive oil, lean meats such as chicken and pork, some eggs and little red meat. The American Heart Association recommends it as well as the American Diabetes Association as being one healthy diet choice for people with diabetes.
HCG, or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin, is a hormone produced during pregnancy by the placenta after implantation, and doctors sometimes prescribe it for fertility issues. But this hormone has also gained popularity as a weight-loss supplement — and using it as such can be dangerous. In fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warns against purchasing over-the-counter hCG, as these supplement products are illegal. (34)

Prior to the advent of exogenous insulin for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in the 1920's, the mainstay of therapy was dietary modification. Diet recommendations in that era were aimed at controlling glycemia (actually, glycosuria) and were dramatically different from current low-fat, high-carbohydrate dietary recommendations for patients with diabetes [1,2]. For example, the Dr. Elliot Joslin Diabetic Diet in 1923 consisted of "meats, poultry, game, fish, clear soups, gelatin, eggs, butter, olive oil, coffee, tea" and contained approximately 5% of energy from carbohydrates, 20% from protein, and 75% from fat [3]. A similar diet was advocated by Dr. Frederick Allen of the same era [4].

Have rest of frittata from Wednesday's breakfast. Serve with 2 cups baby spinach leaves, topped with 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and 1 cup fat-free milk. Have one slice of whole-wheat toast topped with 2 teaspoons light trans-fat-free margarine. For dessert, have one 2-inch-square piece of baklava, a traditional Greek pastry with flaky fillo dough and walnuts. Athens Brand Frozen Baklava Pastry is available in many groceries nationwide. It's a great choice because the portions are tiny, and no baking or heating is required. (Have two squares if choosing Athens brand.)
Hi Mel, Assuming that your ranch dressing doesn’t have sugar added, you don’t need to worry too much about limiting it, but within reason. This is my homemade ranch dressing recipe, which has 0.9g net carbs per 2-tbsp serving. It would be hard to find a store bought one with much less than that, even though some round anything less than 1g down to 0g, which isn’t truly accurate. Also, keep in mind that if weight loss is your goal, some people find that too much dairy can cause a stall. Finally, make sure you aren’t using all your “available” carbs on ranch dressing – have it with some low carb veggies!
The ketogenic diet is not a benign, holistic or natural treatment for epilepsy; as with any serious medical therapy, there may be complications.[27] These are generally less severe and less frequent than with anticonvulsant medication or surgery.[27] Common but easily treatable short-term side effects include constipation, low-grade acidosis and hypoglycaemia if there is an initial fast. Raised levels of lipids in the blood affect up to 60% of children[37] and cholesterol levels may increase by around 30%.[27] This can be treated by changes to the fat content of the diet, such as from saturated fats towards polyunsaturated fats, and, if persistent, by lowering the ketogenic ratio.[37] Supplements are necessary to counter the dietary deficiency of many micronutrients.[3]

I think the larger question is why we are seeing such a sudden rash of anti-keto stories. So many of them quote no experts sources and do not provide citations for their claims. Skeptics with little acquaintance with the diet are quoted exclusively instead. From a journalistic perspective, this lack of balance of viewpoints and the failure to back up claims with evidence falls below basic reporting standards. Offenders on this list include even the Harvard School of Public Health, which recently published more than one unsourced, one-sided article on the keto diet (This is in addition to the Lancet Public Health article cited above, by Harvard researchers, which suggests that a low-carb diet kills you). These stories could reflect lazy reporting or they could very well be scare tactics to steer people away from the keto diet. Why would reporters or scientists at Harvard be doing such a thing? That’s material for another post. Stay tuned.

When you’re eating the foods that get you there (more on that in a minute), your body can enter a state of ketosis in one to three days, she adds. During the diet, the majority of calories you consume come from fat, with a little protein and very little carbohydrates. Ketosis also happens if you eat a very low-calorie diet — think doctor-supervised, only when medically recommended diets of 600 to 800 total calories.